Former India batter Mohammad Kaif reckons Axar Patel is owed an “explanation” after the T20I vice-captaincy was snatched from him and given to Shubman Gill for the upcoming eight-team Asia Cup.
The All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee on Tuesday unveiled the 15-member squad for the tournament, beginning September 9. Axar, who was the vice-captain for India’s last T20I assignment-the five-match series against England earlier this year-is no longer Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy, as the all-important position has now been given to Gill.
Gill, who is the Test captain, makes his way to India’s T20I setup after more than a year. He last played a T20I in 2024 against Sri Lanka. However, he was never dropped from the team as he was rested to keep him fit for the Test and ODI assignments.
It must be mentioned that Gill was the vice-captain in the series against Sri Lanka last year, and Axar was only elevated to this role in the 25-year-old’s absence.
However, Kaif believes Axar has done no wrong and deserves to know what really happened to his leadership role. He also hopes that the selectors and Axar communicated about the vice-captaincy being taken away.
“I hope Axar Patel was informed about his removal from vice-captaincy in advance, and he didn’t come to know about it from the press conference. Axar did no wrong, so he deserves an explanation,” Kaif wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Axar Patel has played 71 T20Is, scoring 535 runs and taking 71 wickets. The left-handed batter is the captain of the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, under his leadership, the franchise failed to make the playoffs this year.
Aakash Chopra sympathises with Axar
Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra also sympathised with Axar, saying it is a bit unfortunate that the all-rounder lost his vice-captaincy to Gill.
Speaking on JioHotstar after the squad was announced, Chopra said, “I also feel that it was a little unfair to Axar that he is suddenly not the vice-captain any more. But that’s my opinion. Team looks fine though.”
The selectors left Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal out of the Asia Cup squad. The latter made it to the reserves list. However, Shreyas wasn’t that lucky.
Jasprit Bumrah is also back in India’s squad while Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two frontline wicket-keepers in the squad. Gill is all set to open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma. What happens to Sanju Samson, only time will tell.